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United Nations Millennium Action Plan: Health InterNetwork

From: WHO  

Based on the challenges outlined in the Millennium Report of the Secretary-General, the United Nations agencies, led by the World Health Organization, have begun a public-private initiative to narrow the digital divide. The Health InterNetwork brings together the international development community, the private sector, foundations, non-governmental organizations and country partners to improve global public health by facilitating the flow of health information worldwide, using the Internet.

This project contributes to ongoing efforts to improve information access, management and networking for health development. The aim is to enable public health care workers, researchers and policy makers in developing countries to gain access to an extensive collection of authoritative and timely health information. The project will provide Internet connectivity, training and state-of- the art tools for meeting country-specific population health needs.

The Health InterNetwork will create a public health portal on the Internet and establish information access sites, both telephonic and wireless, in developing countries around the world. Some 13,000 new health information access sites are expected to be equipped with Internet technology and made available by the end of 2003. This will require not only providing appropriate technology and training, but also creating and adapting content and applications to address country needs. The project will enable communication and networking among public health information users, and enhanced monitoring of health status.

A pilot phase of six to 12 months will focus on completing needs assessments in selected nations and building the content of the Internet portal, stressing priority public health programs. Different technical programs, selected by region or country based on pre-set criteria, will be supported in pilot projects run in each of the six WHO regions over a one-year operation and evaluation period. A rollout phase of five years will then broaden the project to include general health and development concerns, increasing connectivity and ensuring sound content management approaches.

Pilot phase

The following will be addressed during the planning and pilot phase:

• Information and communications technology initiatives. A number of projects targeted at the digital divide have either been completed, are currently being implemented or are in the planning phase. To build on experience and lever potential synergy we will conduct a strategic review of similar initiatives at global and national levels.
• Partnership. The Health InterNetwork needs support from partners in the private as well the public sector in order to become a truly global project. The challenge is not limited to the creation, aggregation and maintenance of health information but requires mobilization of resources to establish and maintain new information access sites.
• Framework for country assessment and selection. The stepwise implementation of the Health InterNetwork requires the development of country indicators, the establishment of a consultation process involving all stakeholders, and an agreement on criteria for country selection.
• Country situation analysis and pilot study implementation. Following consultation to establish national or regional requirements we will undertake impact studies in selected pilot countries to inform the overall project plan. The major components for country pilot projects include: technology (equipment and telecommunications); content (technical); staffing, training and support; evaluation; budget and accounting.
• Technical program contribution for pilot projects. The pilot phase will initially focus on international and national public health priorities; for example, HIV/AIDS and blood safety, tuberculosis, malaria and immunisation.

During this phase, two advisory consortia will be convened to address planning and delivery beyond the pilot phase. First, a WHO-led 'content working group' will bring together national and global authoritative public health information providers to set standards, determine the content areas required and the best method of providing and adapting content for local needs. Work will involve setting quality criteria, and content or provider selection to meet identified user needs. Second, planning for the logistics for connectivity and Internet service provision will be addressed by a UNDP-led consortium. Private partners will provide technical assistance in designing, customizing and maintaining the portal.

Expected results

1. Country access sites

Following the pilot phase, country access sites will be expanded. A site may consist of many users, but the basic components will be: hardware/software installation and support, Internet connectivity and maintenance, training, content delivery and networking. Sites are expected to be operational immediately after set-up, with Internet and access to health and development information adapted for local use. Country evaluation and follow-up will ensure that sites are running properly and that training and content are meeting programme needs.

2. Content and application development

Content provision through content consortium: Initially there will be a source-based level of quality for portal content (i.e., credible public health information providers). An annual or other regular review will be established to ensure quality. Local partnerships will be developed to ensure content translation and adaptation to meet country needs.

WHO has a role to play in the development of universal, health-related software standards for specific global health applications, to facilitate information transfer in ways that will not depend on the level of sophistication of information systems and equipment. WHO will formalize the standards process and define the work as a key activity to support the provision of content through the Health InterNetwork portal.

More

The HEALTH INFORMATION FORUM is run as an activity of the INASP-Health Programme. Contact Dr Neil Pakenham-Walsh: email: INASP_Health@compuserve.com website: www.inasp.org.uk

The WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION headquarters is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Email: info@who.int website: www.who.int